Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Supreme People’s Court issues environmental public interest litigation regulations | Supreme People's Court MonitorbySusan Finder, J.D.
"On the afternoon of 6 January, the Supreme People’s Court issued its first judicial interpretation of the year (法释〔2015〕1号), its long-anticipated environmental public interest litigation regulations at a press conference, at which officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Ministry of Environmental Protection, as well as the Court’s spokesman answered questions. The text of the regulations is found here, as well as a notice jointly issued by the Court, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs and a video of the press conference. From a quick glance at the text and joint notice, there are both provisions with Chinese characteristics and those found in environmental legislation in many jurisdictions. The draft was issued for public comment in October and foreign as well as domestic organizations made comments."